Maerad of the Forgotten Memories
by RavenDove16
Summary: Cadvan waits for a dear friend that never shows. Maerad looses herself forgetting everything and truly becomes a wolf. Racked with grief over losing his loving Maerad, Cadvan is surprised to feel his grief lessened by the occasional glimpse of the lone wolf. Where did the wolf come from and why was it here. Well neither of them knew.


Thank you all for reading my second story. My first is going a bit slow but I'm not as passionate about Black Butler as I am about Pellinor. Let it be said that as much as I wish these characters were mine they are sadly not. All of that credit goes to Alison Croggon. I do hope you enjoy my first chapter...

The Blind Running

So many thoughts get lost when you're running. Maerad soon found this out after changing into a wolf to get away from Arkan. Briefly she was able to recall her travels and the past few months but anything beyond that was a blur. Being separated from the pack that had called her "family" Maerad just kept running trying to find something familiar. A strong insistent tug pulled her towards somewhere. That much she was certain of, where it was she was being pulled to she couldn't remember.

There was one memory Maerad was fighting to remember but she wasn't having the greatest of luck. The only thing she could clearly remember was her time as a wolf. Hunting, running, and living as a wolf. She could, however, remember how the memory made her feel so she held on to that as fiercely as she could. Snow was falling even more malevolently now and she couldn't remember just what was so scary about snow, but her instincts told her everything. Snow equals evil but somehow it was also kind of beautiful and loving.

None of this made any sense, evil yet beautiful. Her white paws slipped out from under her yet again as they met a patch of ice under a layer of snow.

 _"I could really learn to hate this constant white fluff,"_ she growled to herself. _"It falls everywhere and gets my fur wet and cold."_

She could have dealt with the cold and the wind if she could remember. The more she tried to think about it the more she slipped from lack of focus. So she solely focused on her running. Dodging trees and large rocks she realized she could smell something other than wet dreary woods. Opening her mouth she could taste the wafting smell. Something was cooking out here in the rocky landscape. Pulling up short she ducked her head down low suddenly realizing she was out of the relative safety of the wooded mountain and was now at the mercy of a craggy slope. Glancing about to find some shelter she found none that were particularly inviting.

The smell of the cooking food was causing her to whine from hunger. Her stomach decided for her, she was going to the meat. Keeping her head low she swiftly kicked back into her running patterns. Once the smell was closer she slowed to a crawl, inching forward, stalking her hopefully easy meal. The snow was still dense so she followed her nose until a soft glow of a fire stood out against the stark white. Switching to a predatory growl and crouch she entered the light of the warm light. In an instant the man there was up with his sword drawn. The harsh zing of metal being slid against metal caused Maerad's ears to flatten even farther against her head.

A soft hungry and angry whine-growl escaped Maerad's toothy grin.

"You will need not to harm me for a dinner, I can see you too are well traveled and hungry."

The dark cloaked man reached out with a full bowl of simple rabbit stew, the smell wafting to Maerad's desperate waiting nose. A low gurgle emitted from her empty stomach and the man set the warm bowl out in front of her.

"Eat your fill it looks like it will just be us this cold night, I was so hoping that she would show and put my fears to rest. Will the Light never stop testing my resolve."

Barely listening Maerad tucked into her waiting meal. Not really noticing that the man had some storm brewing through his emotions and yearning was hammering to his core. The odd man ate slowly while she ate as though she had never seen food before. The warmth of the stew was not what had her eating so quick. This man he smelled of many places. The damp coolness of the snow could not mask his well traveled collection of memories in the form of smells. The one that stood out was not the most recent but stale and shocked. He held a grief. Maerad didn't know why this scared her but she knew it did regardless. Now with her bowl empty and cleaned she pushed it back to the man and backed away.

The odd man and the wolf shared a gaze before Maerad threw her head up to the stars and let out a long unbroken howl. The howl itself was beautiful much like the The Lay of Ardina. Full of the same savage love and also the same gut retching sorrow.


End file.
